His Other Half
by Katya Scriptari
Summary: After the Ceremonial Duel, Seto Kaiba doesn't have the closure he desires. He calls upon an old rival, hoping for some answers.


His Other Half

Well…hello, minna-san! I'm sure most of you don't remember me. For anyone who does…yes, this is really me. I'm back, however temporarily, from the dead. No one could be more surprised than me! After years of not caring about Yu-Gi-Oh, I somehow stumbled on it again, and lo and behold, I enjoyed what I watched. And, naturally, my fanfictionist fingers began to itch not too long afterward. Thus, here I am, posting a rather long one-shot.

This takes place after the series' finale (which I both liked and disliked). I'm sure everyone has seen it by now, but just in case…I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so just bear that in mind. ^_~

Summary: After the Ceremonial Duel, Seto Kaiba hasn't quite reached the closure he's been wanting. So, he calls on someone rather unexpectedly, hoping to end the confusion.

Some angst toward the end, slight OOC-ness from the characters. Italics indicate thoughts. Enjoy!

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"I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here." The tall brunet gazed out of the window, studying the foliage outside with casual indifference.

"It's certainly not every day I receive an invitation like this, Kaiba," the youth standing in the doorway said. The hint of amusement in his voice was enough to make Seto turn around, noting with interest the slight smile on the other duelist's face. "I don't believe I've ever seen the interior of your house before. It's quite nice." He looked around the spacious sitting room, painted a soft blue-gray with large windows overlooking a small garden.

Seto allowed himself a momentary smirk at the compliment. "Have a seat, Yugi," he said, gesturing to the small navy futon closest to the shorter duelist. He himself sat on the matching couch opposite him, noting the differences from when they had last seen each other. Yugi was taller – or had he just taken to standing up straighter? – and carried himself with a quiet confidence and grace that seemed to add a few more inches to his small stature. It was a stark contrast to the shy, stammering boy he had met just four years ago – mere weeks before he started wearing a strange, oversized golden pyramid around his neck. At first, Seto had thought it looked ridiculous. Now, it seemed strange to see him without it…and even stranger to think that he would never wear it again.

"I asked you to come here…" Seto paused and considered his next words. _Better to just come out and say it, I suppose._ "I asked you to come because I want answers."

Yugi sighed, a despondent look coming over his features. He took the cup of tea Seto offered him. "Answers…you and the rest of the world." He took a sip contemplatively and set the tea on the small table between them.

"I think I'm entitled to a few more answers than the rest of the world."

"Hm," Yugi's mouth turned up into an amused half smirk, lowering his eyes and then bringing them back up to meet his rival's in a gesture that was so characteristic of his other self that Seto had to blink to make sure it was really him. "I suppose you do." He paused. "Why don't you ask me what you want to know? I'm not sure where to begin, myself."

Seto was slightly unnerved by the calm dignity in the other boy. He didn't have the overwhelming confidence that bordered on arrogance that the Pharaoh did, but his quiet calm was so reminiscent of him that he wondered for a split second if they had actually fused into one being again.

"It's been six months since that duel," he started awkwardly, not entirely sure how to phrase what he wanted to say, "since we all saw you two separated for the first time, and saw him walk away." The other duelist winced slightly, but he continued. "Since then…" he stopped. How was he supposed to put into words the confusing blend of emotions and changes he had felt? "…Since then, I've lost the urge to beat you in a duel." That wasn't quite right. "Well, not really. But the drive I once had…I was single-minded, Yugi; I thought I would never rest until I had finally beaten you. Him. Whatever." God, this whole business with two Yugis was confusing. "I still see you as a rival. I still see you as the one person standing in my way to the Dueling Champion crown. But I've lost the desire to see you fully beaten. The urge to hand you a crushing defeat has gone. I don't understand it; it doesn't make any sense! Whether or not there are two of you or not, ONE of you is still here. So what's the deal?"

"Actually, it makes perfect sense," Yugi answered. "You and…Atem were rivals in ancient Egypt. Don't start that again," he added, correctly interpreting the exasperated look on Seto's face. "You should know by now that it wasn't a trick." Seto sighed, irritated, but nodded for him to continue. "You began as partners but there was always a rivalry. You also never had the separation between your former and your present spirits the way he and I did, so you felt twice as strongly. Now, Atem's spirit, your chief rival both in the present and the past, has gone—," here he took a deep breath, "—and your desire to defeat him in either world has gone as well."

Seto considered this for a moment. It did make sense. He didn't like admitting that the whole mess with ancient Egypt was really true, but it seemed pointless to deny it any further. To be honest, it made a lot more sense to accept it. "All right. But there were two of you. Which of you did I duel, did all of us duel?"

Yugi suddenly looked very sad. "Yami. It was almost always Yami. I dueled on my own a few times, and helped him out from the sidelines in our mind. But Yami was in control every time you dueled us."

Seto stared at him for a minute. Who the hell was this Yami he was now talking about? "You've lost me."

Yugi started, realizing what he'd said. "Sorry, Kaiba. Before I knew his name, or even that he was a pharaoh, I called him Yami and he answered to it. Even when everyone else called him Pharaoh, I called him that. I'm still not quite used to knowing his true name."

"So you called him Darkness? That's interesting." Somehow, it seemed appropriate.

"Yami always said that I was the lighter half, and he was the darker half. He'd call me his hikari, or light, every so often." He smiled at the memory. "Ryou is—er, _was_ the same way."

"Ah, yes, that psycho who tried to destroy Egypt looked a lot like him," Seto recalled.

"Bakura was trapped in the Millennium Ring, the way Yami was trapped in the Puzzle. He was Ryou's darker half."

"Hm," Seto said, musing. He had about a million questions about the exact nature of this light half/dark half bond, but he had a gut feeling that Yugi would end up spending hours talking about it. He was, admittedly, truly interested in what the spiky-haired young man was telling him. "Tell me…Tell me about him. Yami. When you solved the Puzzle."

"That could take all day," Yugi smiled, but he launched into the story. Seto found himself engrossed in Yugi's tale, of how he hadn't realized what was happening at first, how Yami had kept his distance, partially merging with Yugi's mind instead of actually taking over the first few times they dueled. How the duel with Kaiba himself on the towers of Pegasus's castle was the first time Yami truly became known to him. Seto started in surprise when Yugi told that part of the story. After all these years, he'd truly thought that Yugi had chickened out. Instead, it seemed he owed Yugi a very fervent thank-you.

As the story continued, how the two of them got to know each other, how they beat Pegasus by switching minds so he couldn't read every card, how Yugi had been more than willing to help Yami figure out his past…he realized that now, in his memories of encountering Yugi, he could tell the difference between them clearly. He wondered, actually, why he hadn't noticed the shifts in personality before. With Yugi describing things and giving his perspective on events, it now seemed obvious to Seto which of them was in control for certain situations. He became so lost in his thoughts that he didn't immediately realize it when Yugi stopped mid-sentence.

After a few minutes of silence, however, he looked at Yugi and saw that he had put his head in his hands, as if he was trying not to cry. Wondering what had brought about this change, he said, "Yugi? Is everything all right?"

Silence for another minute. Then, "It hurts, Kaiba," he half-whispered, closing his eyes as if to ward off physical pain. "It's almost a real, physical pain, it hurts so much. He was part of me, he was always there, and now…" He drew a deep, shuddering breath. "It's like I've been torn in two and the wound is still bleeding. I'm whole, but not whole. I was my own person before I solved the Puzzle, but Yami completed me in a different way, helped me grow…he really was half of me. And now half of me is gone. Where his mind used to be is a gaping hole of nothing." He squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "I'll be walking and I'll see something that reminds me of an experience we had, and I'll call him like I always did, like HE always did when the same happened while he was in control…but he's not there."

He opened his eyes and looked Seto in the face and Seto saw the pain and loss in those wide amethyst eyes. "No one will ever be able to understand exactly how it feels. Though, Ryou does…even though he and Bakura never had the kind of supportive relationship that we did, he knows. For you…" he paused, thinking for a moment. "For you, I'd say you'd feel the closest you'd ever feel to this if Mokuba died."

Seto felt like Yugi had punched him in the stomach. He felt almost winded, as he dared to consider how he'd feel if his little brother passed away. He NEVER considered it, to be honest, because he knew what would happen. He'd be devastated; he'd fall apart and no one would be able to convince him to keep going. Mokuba was everything to him. Everything. "If I lost him…" He couldn't continue; his breathing was ragged, he felt hot and clammy. _Calm down_, he told himself firmly. _Mokuba is still here. He's here and he's safe. Relax._ Slowly, his breathing returned to normal.

Yugi smiled sadly. "I know. No one is closer to you than he is. You share everything. Now…now, imagine if you shared minds. You could keep thoughts private from each other, but you could always tell how each other was feeling. When you were feeling lost or depressed, he'd know and comfort you without saying a word. And then, when he died – or in my case, simply walked into the afterlife – all of that was gone. All of it gone in just a few seconds."

Seto couldn't imagine. He struggled for a few minutes, but he couldn't imagine how that would feel. All he knew was that if Mokuba died, he would not be able to sit on someone's couch and talk about it like Yugi was now. "You…you seem to have borne it well, though."

"It isn't too painful during the day. I have classes to attend, and I still see my friends. It's at night, or at a dueling event, when it hits hard." Unconsciously, the smaller duelist hugged himself, shivering slightly. _Which explains why he's barely dueled at all since then_, Seto thought. "Although--," Yugi's voice broke. "Although, this was the right thing to happen." Seto stared at him incredulously. "He was trapped in the Puzzle for 5000 years, Kaiba. He never told me what that was like; he didn't want to talk about it. But I can't imagine waiting around for centuries, just waiting for someone to solve the Puzzle so he could save the world again, never truly resting.

"He was tired, Kaiba, I could see it. He didn't want to leave me, or our friends, or the world that he had grown to love, but he was tired. Ever since our minds came together, it's been one big battle after another for us. He longed for peace. And after all he'd done for me, for everyone…there was no way I could lose that duel and keep him here for another five millennia. No matter how much I loved him and wanted him to stay…no matter how much he loved me. We both knew that this was the right thing. But…but…"

The tears in his eyes were threatening to spill over now, and Seto heard a soft sob from the hunched figure in front of him. He pulled a tissue from his pocket and placed it in his hand. Seto felt his own voice respond sluggishly, clearing it once or twice before finishing Yugi's sentence. "…But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

Yugi shook his head, unable to speak as he attempted to regain control of himself. The two of them sat in silence for a while. _What a cruel injustice_, Seto thought to himself as he watched the smaller duelist blow his nose. _They had just succeeded in gaining Yami's—no, Atem's memories back, the most important thing in the world for him. And so soon after he finally knew his true identity, he had to leave everything behind. Although…he didn't rest for five millennia. It would've been an even crueler injustice if he had to wait another five._

"Gomen…sorry, Kaiba," Yugi interrupted his thoughts. "But I have to go. Grandpa will be getting worried, and Joey's stopping by the store soon."

Seto rose. "Of course. I didn't expect our discussion to go on for so long." He gave Yugi a good once-over and decided that while he was presentable, he was still obviously shaken from his emotional confession. "Thank you for being so honest with me, Yugi. I know it isn't much consolation, but if you want to talk more about it…or even ask me questions…don't hesitate to call."

The ghost of a smile flitted across his face. "Thank you, Kaiba," he said softly. He was once more composed and dignified, though now Seto knew the sadness that the calm demeanor concealed. He called his chauffeur to take Yugi home. As he watched the car pull away, he pulled out his phone to make a call.

"Hey, Big Brother! What's up?"

"Mokuba…" He trailed off. "How about we hang out tonight? Whatever you'd like to do. Just us." And tonight, for the first time in a long time, he'd stay with his little brother until he fell asleep.

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Well, hopefully my creative writing skills haven't completely rusted over. Thanks for reading…and please review!

(It also seems that a lot of my old stories got some formatting stuff messed up, to an annoying degree. I'll try to fix that)


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